Aritificial Heart
by Equalist l3itch
Summary: (ChobitsAU)Persocoms, mankind's greatest creation. Humanoid computers capable of anything, from entertainment, business and even sexual desires. For someone like Eren, too expensive was what they were. It was practically a gift from the heavens when he found one near the dumpster. Blonde hair, undercut, big build; not a single physical flaw. No harm in harm taking it home, right?
1. Artificial Dream

_Full Summary: Persocoms, mankind's greatest creation. Humanoid computers capable of anything, from entertainment, business and even sexual desires. You could customize them as you pleased, from appearance to personality and even accent. The problem was that, for someone like Eren Jaeger, an engineer student aspiring to build persocoms, who lived alone and was too stubborn to accept even the least of help, they were way too expensive. So it was practically a gift from the heavens when he found one near the dumpster. Blonde hair, undercut, big build; not a single physical flaw in sight and looking as if he was simply taking a nap. No harm in taking it home, right? (Chobits!AU)_

_"Mama, when I grow up, I want to build persocoms!"_

* * *

That's what he said, but now Eren was really regretting it. It's not that he didn't want to be an engineer; it's not that he didn't want to build mankind's greatest achievement, the persocom. It's just that this fucking teacher could not be more annoying. In truth, Eren Jaeger wanted to achieve his promise of becoming an engineer to his deceased mother.

_'How am I supposed to become an engineer when is one teaching me?'_ He grumbled in his mind, resting his chin on the palm of his hand. His eyelids felt heavy, his concentration completely dispersed, and he stared off into space for what seemed like a few minutes before the classroom started fading in his mind. His teacher's annoying voice, the classroom's chatter, the flickering of the broken lights above didn't draw his attention.

His chest felt light, and his weight seemed to have tripled before completely disappearing. But it didn't bother Eren; in fact, it filled him with a sense of relaxation. He couldn't tell if he was sleepy. Well, he should be, he's been deprived of some good hours of sleep by all the goddamned homework he'd had. His momentary relaxation broke quickly by the very person who had indirectly prevented his sleep.

"Jaeger!" His teacher, Auruo Bossard, bellowed. Eren jerked back into awareness as he was asked, "You entered this class with admirable determination. What is the first program you install in a persocom? Im not counting the whole Operating System."

Ah, what was it again? He couldn't remember. There were lots of programs; Visual programs, Auditory programs, Movement programs, Speech and Language programs, Memory expansion programs, Anti-Viruses…

"Er, the Movement programs?" It was worth a shot, right? It wouldn't be a persocom if it couldn't move, right? That was the whole thing about persons, human-like computers that could call and even connect to TVs.

"Wrong," Bossard scowled, crossing his arms, "The Speech and Language programs come first. Because persocoms do not have a screen, they rely on saying what is left to install and guide you through the procedure. Even If their first program was movement, they wouldn't be able to communicate through sign language without, well, the Language program. So they'd just walk or move at random with no destination. Not that you'd be able to understand even if the persocom did some sign language." He scoffed at Eren, turning back to the projected screen and continuing the lesson, complaining about his students and how they didn't pay attention to something so simple.

_Well, fuck._ Eren glared at his notebook, writing what he just learned down. was good in terms of teaching, his knowledge was admirable, but his piss-poor attitude ruined everything. And Eren, try as he may, couldn't suck it up and ignore a person with a shitty attitude. Maybe that's why he had piles of detention slips.

"Master Auruo, don't be rude!" Eren's gaze traveled back up, and he blinked as 's own persocom, Petra, defended the students. Auruo visibly shrinked back before scowling, "I wasn't being rude, it's just discipline." He tried to defend, but Petra crossed her arms, and he grumbled before sitting down at his desk. Petra went up to the front with a charming smile, and, if it weren't for the trademark bell-shaped 'ears' all persocoms have, no one would have known she's a persocom. No one knew why Petra had such power over her own owner, but most just guessed that liked it that way, even if he argues back and says it's not true. Others suspected him of not changing her personality traits program because he had fallen in love with her just as she was.

"Hear him complain all you want, but the first program he installed on me was the Visual one. So all I could do was stare at him while he tried to speak to me," The class snickered, and Auruo's cheeks went pink from embarrassment. She continued where he had left off, turning back to the projection.

Meanwhile, Eren blatantly stared at the persocom. I_t must be nice,_ he thought, _to have a persocom. They do all kinds of work, you can customize them so they can be eye-candy, customize their personality, and they can do anything._ He wanted one, too. Sadly, his empty wallet greatly disapproved of that thought; as someone who had to live alone he couldn't afford buying such an expensive luxury (even though it'd be extremely helpful in that situation). His childhood friend, Armin, was a genius who could build high-quality persocoms in less than a week. He had offered tons of persocoms, including his own persocom, Mikasa, to him, but as tempted as he was, he denied them.

Mikasa was…a persocom created to 'replace' his original adopted sister, who had died of sickness like his father supposedly had. Eren and Armin could never cope with her death, and thus the other 'Mikasa' was created. That persocom looked, talked, and expressed itself just like Mikasa, but he had to remember that it wasn't Mikasa, it never would be. Having it near would just hurt him, and he didn't accept the others because he was too stubborn to rely on anyone. He could do this on his own…right?

His last option was to build a persocom himself after he graduated as an engineer, but even then he didn't know how he'd be able to buy the parts with his dumb job as a waiter. He tuned out the rest of the class as he mulled over his future, gradually upsetting himself.

After what seemed like hours, Eren's favorite words were spoken; "Class dismissed!," Petra announced, giving a small bow before starting to pack Auruo's things. Eren, too, started packing his own things before he someone pulled a chair and sat in front of his desk.

"Yo, hetero-chromiac," Came the short greeting from his…friend, if he could even call him that. Jean Kirschtein, a guy his age with weird hair and a long face. They had known each other since Elementary, when he had a huge crush on Mikasa. He wasn't a bad person, but their personalities clashed way too much so they could get along well. After Mikasa passed away, they weren't rude to each other; Mikasa had always hated when they fought.

He snorted at the nickname; nicknames were supposed to be shorter and easier to pronounce, yet this asshole had decided on 'heterochromiac' because of his eye colors. One which shone honey gold, and the other a strange sea green. For the longest time, he thought they were something bad, that they'd make him go blind eventually or something. For the longest time, he had hidden them beneath contact lenses. He only stopped doing so after Mikasa passed away. Her death changed lots of things. He wished he had listened to her every wish while she was still alive.

"Yo, horseface." He had greeted back, but neither looked shaken by the insults; it was normal for them. He zipped his bag before turning his full attention to Jean, urging him to hurry up and spit out what he wanted to say.

"I saw you going by the apartments I live in. You moving in?" By now the classmates had left, and it was finally quiet. Eren wished it was always like this.

"Ah, that. Well, yeah. The place I live in right now is too far and crowded, plus the landlady gave me a discount for being a student," A smile made its way to the boy's lips at the memory, and Jean snickered at him.

"Yeah, she gave me a discount, too. She's really nice, and the apartments aren't half bad." He hums, and adds, "So, does your weak-ass self need help getting things up to your room? I know you need the help of a real, strong man like me."

"Like hell I do, asshole."

"Fine then. Have fun not being able to lift not even your toaster."

Eren grumbled. There was a squeak before something made its way out Jean's pocket and landed in the table. A small persocom, one of the pocket versions, with a brown ponytail and a big round eyes.

"Master, master! It's time to go home! What will you cook today master? Which workout routine do you prefer today? What playlist do you want me to play while you do the routine? Will we visit Connie's bakery today?" Question after question, the small persocom bounced around, running her mouth. At least, until Jean had enough.

"Gah, enough!" Jean snapped, and both Eren and the persocom flinched. "I know it's time to go home. Today's dinner is spaghetti, and both the routine and the playlist are the usual. Now hush, Sasha. And no to the rest of your questions." He huffed, taking a breath.

Huh, maybe having a persocom wasn't all that perfect. This looked like the kind of persocom that'd wake you up at 4 in the morning just to ask what you would cook for dinner.

Eren snickered at the thought.

"Sorry about that," Jean sighed, motioning over to the persocom. "This is Sasha. She's an entertainment-purpose laptop model." Sasha seemed to acknowledge Eren now, and she bounced over, a huge grin on her face.

"I'm Sasha, and I like food!"

"Yeah," Eren replied, "I noticed."

"Well, since you're gonna move in, you're free to use her," Eren raised an eyebrow, eyeing Jean. "Really? What's the catch?"

A wide smirk made its way to Jean's face, "You gotta help me with homework."

He gave an exaggerated roll of his eyes, "You have a persocom to help you with that."

"Yeah but an entertainment-purpose laptop persocom isn't as advanced. She'd made for, well, entertaining. Singing, dancing, etc. She can gather information but when it comes to anything else it's beyond her." He explained, twirling her ponytail with his finger.

Eren pondered over it. Well, he wasn't relying on Jean in a way, so there's no harm right? After a nod, he gathered his bag and stood, "Alright. Also, there's some guys that will take my stuff up. But thanks for your concern, Jeanny boy."

Eren snickered; making his way out the door while ignoring the 'Hey!' that came from behind him, he made a mental note of how dark the clouds looked. He hadn't brought an umbrella, and he was really regretting that.

By the time he made it to his work place, a small restaurant called L'avenir, it had begun to pour. Rushing in, he quickly clocked in and changed clothes, ruffling his hair to get rid of any excess water. It was warm inside, and it had a relaxing atmosphere to it. The walls were a pale cream, with shiny wooden floors. The air smelled of various foods, and this time the chatter was welcomed. The pay wasn't anything extravagant, but Eren loved this place. When he moved to the city, this was the first place he visited on a rainy day, just like today. He had been completely and utterly lost, upset and hungry before the cook, Erd Gin, invited him over. In return, he offered to work for free, but Erd simply hired him and payed him like a normal employee.

The cook's personal persocom, called Gunther, was probably the closest to being an actual 'robot'. He didn't have much range of emotions, and though he had his expressive moments, most of the time he remained quiet and obedient. Eren wasn't sure how to feel about that. For one part, the thing that made persocoms so amazing was their ability to resemble an actual human. Gunther felt…like just a robot at times. He knew that wasn't true, thought, as he had seen the persocom smile and tell jokes to Erd. It was just so…uncommon, that it amazed Eren.

Sometimes he forgot how amazing persocoms were.

He took his mind away from the topic, facing some new customers and giving his best grin, "Hello and welcome to L'avenir, are you ready to order?"

* * *

It was dark and raining by the time his shift ended, and though Erd offered him a ride, he declined. He had no idea how to get to his new home by car anyways. He did, however, accept the umbrella the generous cook gave him.

So now Eren was running, trying to get home as soon as he could. Out of the corner of his eye, a persocom store caught his eye, and a bit reluctantly, he stopped and went near. He browsed the persocoms on display, admiring how human they looked. Well, he took that back; they looked too perfect to be humans. Not a single flaw on the curve of their ears, not a single eyelash out of place; a perfect symmetrical face.

'_Do I dare look at the prices…'_ That's what he thought, and though he knew he shouldn't, he did anyways. Sure enough, they cost more than he's probably worth plus all the money he's held in his life (which wasn't much, but that wasn't the point). He clicked his tongue, taking one last glance at the persocoms before sighing and accepting his persocom-less fate. Even a tiny one like Sasha would be too expensive. He just hoped that his studies would get him where he wanted to be, doing what he wanted to do. Hopefully one day he'd be able to make persocoms like these- no, persocoms better than these.

With renewed determination Eren hadn't known he was lacking, he stood straight and help his head high, gripping his bag and took off home. He hadn't felt like this since long ago; the flame of determination. He was going to go home, and he was going to study everything he copied down on his notebook. He would memorize every word so that when the time came, he wouldn't have to look at manuals or hesitate where to put the cables. He would build persocoms, of a high quality, like Armin's. A smile spread out on his face, the rain no longer bothering him. He didn't bother to dodge the puddles, he didn't even notice when he stepped on them.

His euphoria was cut short when, much like he didn't notice puddles, he hadn't notice something in his path. He fell face first, pain shooting through his nose and rain wetting his face. Angry, Eren whipped back at the source of his fall, only to find that it hadn't been some log or anything. It was...a leg? For a moment, panic went through his head,

_'Oh my God, I just tripped over a dead body.'_

He scrambled over, grabbing the body's shoulders and shaking, ignoring the fallen umbrella and his soaking clothes. "S-Sir?! Are you okay, si-" That wasn't a sir. Well, it was, but not a real one. An artificial sir. He'd know those bell-shaped ears (which looked more like cat ears actually) anywhere. It was...a persocom. A persocom with bright blonde hair, an undercut, a peaceful sleeping expression, and a fairly big, toned body. It was weird; was it a new model? Eren had never seen toned male models before. Maybe it was a homemade model. A thought occurred to him, and his head snapped up to the persocom's closed eyes. It was in the trash. Somebody threw something as expensive as a persocom away, instead of selling the 'shell' to a persocom store. That means...he could take it?

No, that would be relying on someone. Well, not really, right? It had been thrown away. Even if it didn't work, he could sell it. Eyes flickering around, Eren weighted his options before giving a groan. Ah, fuck it. He got closer to the persocom, swinging its arm over his shoulder and using all his force to pick it up. It was heavy as hell. He nearly changed his mind, but his brain reminded him of all the ways this persocom could benefit him, and he ended up sucking it up. With some struggle he picked up his umbrella while avoiding that the persocom fell, and with a wobble, started to make his way to the new apartment.

He just hoped no one would see him carrying a nearly-naked male model at night.

Eren got to his apartment undetected, but drenched from head-to-toe. He had nearly slipped down the stairs and the chilly air was pricking at his skin. He just wanted to have a warm bath and go to sleep. He struggled to hold up the persocom while opening the door to his apartment, and when he finally did, he lowered him softly on the floor and locked the door.

Eren rubbed at his aching shoulders, rolling them while groaning; he'll definitely feel that in the morning. More importantly….his gaze traveled down, where the persocom laid. He bent over and grabbed him, dragging him closer to the bed and going off to get towels. He dried himself off first, not wanting to catch an annoying cold, and when he went over to the blond, he paused.

Persocoms could get wet right? They weren't damaged because of water, right? Well, he had seen some scuba-diving persocoms on TV before, but those were made specifically to scuba dive. Pushing his doubts aside he put his hand around his waist amd held him up so drying him would be easier, and his cheeks burned bright red. He tried looking away, but he was scared about touching certain unwanted places because he couldn't see where he was drying. He took another towel, a smaller one, and got around to drying off the persocom's blond hair. At some point, it had brushed against his hand and Eren paused, noting how soft it was. Before he even registered his movements he had combed his hair parted at the side, feeling how soft it was.

He caught himself in the embarrassing act, panicking and letting go. The persocom's head hit the floor with a '_thud_' and Eren flinched, mumbling an apology as if it could hear him. He should really turn it on and make this whole process easier. It seemed like a good idea, until Eren actually leaned over and froze. Er, the start button was...where? He felt around the artificial ears, pressing and searching for some button. He remembered telling him that a persocom's button was usually on the ears or their bellybuttons. Eren's hand drifted down, feeling the humid 'skin' and it's 'muscles'. When he got to the bellybutton, the button wasn't there. He looked away, his face burning up as his hand kept wandering around. He even tried the nipples (while wishing that some superior deity itself would descent and smite him on the spot). His eyes traveled lower, where the persocom's crotch was covered with what seemed like bandages.

_'You know, I don't have to do this. I can just take it to shop and sell it and pretend this never happened,_' He thought, but a sliver of hope burned in his stomach. What if it did turn on? What if he could actually own a persocom?

And such a thought was the one that made Eren's hand travel even lower, past the bandages. His throat dried up, and his eyes stung from the embarrassment he felt as he touched around, and—_why the fuck were this persocom's genitals so fucking well defined what the hell most weren't even supposed to have any._

The hand around his torso moved up, tired of holding the whole weight of the persocom. It moved to the back of the neck, and looking for a more comfortable posture, Eren moved it again. The pressure applied to the particular spot on the nape of the neck and—

Blue eyes snapped open, body jerking in the boy's grasp. Bicolored eyes met sky blue ones as Eren turned in horror, hand still touching where it shouldn't. Eren wasn't one to think of suicide, but right now he wanted nothing more than to throw himself out the window.

He brought his hands back to himself, once again letting the persocom's head hit the floor with a '_thud'_. Except this time, the persocom was awake. It gave a flinch before sitting up, and it didn't seem to be in pain. If anything, it just looked disoriented and confused. What was Eren supposed to say? _Hey there I found you in the trash and decided to bring you home but if you didn't wake up I was going to sell you haha dont mind the hand that was touching you in strange places, yeah?_

Wait- _it woke up._ The persocom works.

"Y-You're awake," Eren gawked, and the persocom turned to him again, tilting its head. "Yes…I am?" It answered, as if it itself could not believe it. Eren coughed awkwardly, wanting to avoid the fact that he had his hands down the persocom's only covering a few seconds ago. "My name's Eren. Eren Jaeger. I kinda- I sorta just found you. Uh, in the trash. I thought you didn't work, but it's good you woke up, huh?" a nervous laugh followed, and Eren scratched the back of his head while the persocom just stared.

"Eren." It repeated, testing out the name on its tongue, maybe wondering if it had any memory of the name. "Eren…"

"Yes…?"

"Erwin." It said, and after hearing his name twice, Eren got confused for a moment. "Erwin Smith," it tried again, "My name is Erwin Smith, Eren."

Eren gave a small 'ah'. "Well, uh, nice to meet you, Erwin."

The persocon stood, the bandages falling off before he gave a bow, "From today on I am in your care, Master Eren."

Eren's jaw dropped, eyes widening. He had his very own persocom. His very own humanoid computer capable of anything, and its name was Erwin Smith.

* * *

_A/N; /It's been a while since I've written fanfics. It's also in AO3 and my tumblr is commander-ereri. This won't really follow Chobit's storyline but persocoms belong to chobits so? I dunno what Im doing/_


	2. Artificial Being

The moment the euphoria of the realization died down, Eren finally realized that the persocom was standing in his full naked glory without even bothering to cover up (he guessed persocoms didn't have any shame). He stuttered and sputtered over his words for a few seconds before snapping his mouth shut and turning away, crawling over to one of the boxes labeled **'CLOTHES'**. He dug around there until he found his underwear, and threw one at Erwin, not daring to turn around.

"What is…?"

"It's underwear. You know, to cover up…uh, they're like pants. Just search them up or something!"

"Search up underwear?"

Eren turned, keeping his gaze up as it should be. He met those confused blue eyes, and for a moment hesitated. Well, he did find it in the trash; maybe it was broken or damaged. Erwin stared at the underwear, pulling at the sides. Oh god, please let him know how to put it on.

"Master Eren-" Eren held up a hand, interrupting Erwin, "Just 'Eren' is fine."

His response was a nod before he tried it again, "Eren, what do I cover with this?" He was kidding, right? A persocom that didn't know what clothing was? Eren stood up hesitantly, walking over. Erwin practically towered over him, and if it weren't for his confused expression, he'd seem intimidating. Eren gulped down his pride, taking the underwear from the persocom.

"You hold it down here and lift your leg. Put it through the hole and do the same with the other one, and then just pull it up the most you can," While Eren explained, Erwin watched him carefully, nodding in understanding. Once he handed him the underwear, Erwin attempted it himself. He got them mid-thigh because Eren hadn't put them on completely when he demonstrated it. It wasn't even completely up and it looked hilariously tight. What on Eren seemed like pants, on Erwin would most likely seem like a hotpants of sorts. Erwin frowned, pulling at the sides; he didn't seem in pain or uncomfortable, just maybe upset that they looked different on him. Eren grabbed at the sides, pushing Erwin's hands aside, and started pulling them up completely with a red face, wanting him to cover up already.

Eren bit his lip nervously; his clothes didn't quite fit him. He'd have to get some if he was going to keep it. He was mentally browsing over his clothing to remember which one would be big enough to fit Erwin when Jean decided it was a good idea to burst through the door uninvited.

"Yo-" He hadn't even mentioned the nickname when he froze in his place, witness to a rather compromising scene which consisted of Eren standing behind a much bigger male, hands on his really tight underwear. There was a moment of complete and utter deafening silence in the room. During that silence, Eren contemplated various ways of getting out of this situation. All of them included either killing himself or killing every witness in the room.

Jean was the first to break the silence, letting out the loudest laugh and wheezing for breath in between. Eren's cheek flared, and he called out, "Stop laughing, stupid horseface!"

"Y-You never told me you were into that! Wow!" He tried to speak between laughs, but it just made it harder to breathe.

"It's not like that!," Eren defended, letting go and motioning to Erwin, "He's a persocom called Erwin! I found it in the trash but it works and it didn't have clothes so I had to give him some of mine!"

Jean sputtered for breath, raising an eyebrow at Eren, "And what, the first thing you happened to find was the tightest pair of underwear you own?"

Eren shook his head fiercely; he hadn't thought about it, actually. He was so embarrassed that he didn't think of another way to cover him other than underwear. "Shut up, horseface! I'll really kick your ass this time!"

"Horse..face?" A voice came behind Eren, and they both paid their full attention to the persocom. Jean's laughter died down, and he studied Erwin for a few moments. Erwin studied him back, eyebrows furrowed together and a hard stare.

"He doesn't seem like a new model," He muttered, going to stand in front of Erwin, checking his ears, neck, arms, torso. "He doesn't even have a serial number," he murmured, and Eren managed to hear.

"I was thinking maybe it was a homemade persocom," He murmured back, meeting Erwin's gaze. He let himself be examined by Jean, not moving. After Eren broke his gaze, Erwin frowned and turned to the other boy, "Horseface?"

Jean's eye twitched, and he stepped back with his hands on his hips, "My name's Jean Kirschtein, not horseface. Don't listen to the stupid heterochromiac." Erwin tilted his head, a tight frown on his lips, "Eren is Eren, not heterochromiac."

"I know that, it's just a nickname!" Jean argued back.

Erwin didn't seem to quite grasp it, "A nickname. Different from name?"

Jean turned to Eren, who had been silently watching the two, "Wow, Eren. Are you really going to keep him? I mean, he was in the trash for a reason; he seems to be damaged. It's really pointless to keep a bad persocom." Eren eyes flickered to Erwin's expression. This time it was unreadable, but clearly not pleased. His lips moved, and he repeated the word 'damaged' as if he couldn't quite understand it. At first, he wasn't sure if he heard it; he wasn't sure if Erwin even said it.

"I'll keep him," Eren spoke up, for now I guess.

The other two turned their attention to Eren, clearly not expecting the decision. Another moment of silence settled before Jean gave a defeated sigh, taking Sasha out of his pocket, "Might as well see what he has installed, right?"

Eren gave a grin, going over to them as Jean set the energetic persocom on Erwin's broad shoulder. "Open the ear so I can connect Sasha. He's your persocom, you might as well start learning how to use him." He was right. Eren reached up, and Erwin, seeing his intentions, leaned down so he'd have easier access. His fingers brushed against the cool surface before he put a little force to open it. Erwin didn't say anything, just stared like usual. Eren was starting to wonder if the only program that worked correctly was the Visual one or something.

Jean helped and told him where to connect the cable, and when it was finally connected, Jean ordered Sasha to check all the data.

The tiny persocom replied with an, "Aye aye!" before all signs of playfulness was gone and her eyes glazed over. Both Eren and Jean stared anxiously. She squinted her eyes, tilting her head, and after what felt like some minutes, she spoke;

"No data available. Unable to fully connect."

Jean furrowed his eyebrows, "No data? That's impossible. He wouldn't be able to move with no Operating System, Sasha. Are you even trying? You can connect to all kinds of persocoms!"

Sasha was quiet once again before she nodded determinedly, most likely browsing over the data again. She twitched once, twice and started shaking. Some squeaking followed, and she began spazzing around in her spot. Erwin turned to face her, surprised. 'Oh my god, she's going to break', was the only thing Eren thought before he immediately intervened and disconnected the cable.

"SASHA!," Jean finally caught up on the situation, holding his tiny persocom with a frantic expression.

_Please don't let her be broken,_ Eren silently prayed,_ I can't afford to fix her._

To his relief, Sasha shook her head and bounced right back on her feet, "Aye! No data found! Let's do some exercises this morning! What will today's food be?!" Jean nearly cried in relief. But it was weird; how can a persocom do anything without any data or Operating System? Eren rubbed at his temples, giving a groan. "Just forget it, Jean; he works, and that's all that matters. Thanks for your help anyways."

Jean shook his head, grabbing Erwin and leading him near the TV.

"Jean, seriousl-" Jean rudely cut him off, "Hush, Eren. I'm going to connect his cable to the monitor." And so, he did. He reached into the mechanic ear and pulled out a cable, but when he connected it to the monitor, the only words across the screen were, '**No data'**. Jean gave a growl, grabbing the remote and clicking more buttons. Some other words appeared, **'Unnable to access the internet.'** And after more clicking,** 'Connection unavailable.'**

"It's no use," Jean finally told Eren, "He's definitely defective."

Eren pursed his lips into a straight line, glancing back at the persocon, who was staring off into space with glazed eyes, like Sasha had a few seconds ago.

Rather than admit defeat, he opted to say, "I'l figure something out. Even repairing him would be cheaper than getting a brand new persocom, you know? Just leave it at that." _'I'm tired as hell, let me sleep.'_

Jean raised en eyebrow, eyeing Eren as he disconnected Erwin's cable and put it back, closing the ear. "You're really desperate for me to leave, aren't you?" After having his ear closed, Erwin snapped back to reality, his eyes become bright again.

Eren whipped his head over to him with an incredulous expression at his insinuation; "What."

A sly smirk made its way to Jean's lips, and he snorted, pocketing Sasha again, "Finally have an idea what you're gonna use your persocon for?"

When what he meant finally clicked, Eren snapped, "Oh my god, get out you perverted asshole!"

* * *

Physically and mentally drained. That's how Eren felt after he kicked Jean out and finally took his well-needed warm bath. Erwin was sitting on the bathroom floor, staring at the wall with an unreadable expression. Eren had told him to stay near, just in case someone came by or he did something he shouldn't do. He had no idea how Erwin was programmed, after all (even though it looked like he wasn't programmed at all somehow). He didn't know if he would ruin something, although he highly doubted it. He let his shoulders relax, feeling like everything had happened too fast/

He held his breath, lowering his head below the water for a few seconds. The only thing he wanted right now was sleep. He also nearly forgot he had to go shopping tomorrow. Well, he couldn't afford much so he guessed mostly just getting underwear and pants was enough. Eren brought his head out of the water and at the ceiling. He wasn't even sure if he was going to keep Erwin. Part of him wondered what would happen if he sold him to the persocom shop and it ended up being futile because he couldn't properly connect to other persocoms. Would he be deleted? Disassembled? Just discarded aside or back in the trash?

Out of the corner of his eye, he studied Erwin, who had his knees pulled up to his chest and his arms crossed on top of them. Persocoms were amazing, weren't they? They were able to copy human actions without being one. The thought of Erwin ending up in the trash made him a little sad. Yeah, persocoms weren't humans; they couldn't feel anything. He wouldn't really feel sad about it, he might not even know he had been thrown away, but he looked so much like a human that Eren sometimes forgot that there were things persocoms just couldn't do. Feeling emotions was one of those things, but it didn't stop many people from believing that they did.

He had an internal battle with himself. If he didn't sell Erwin, maybe he could teach him how to be a persocom or something, but he couldn't access the internet so wouldn't it be useless? But if he did sell him he'd have some money but still end up being alone with no physical help (not that he needed it, it's not like those boxes weighted that much or cooking was hard).

"Eren," Erwin called out, turning towards the tub where said person was in, "What is the meaning of _'defective'_?"

Uh. Shit. How was he supposed to answer that? "Er, it's something that doesn't work correctly, like it should." He tried explaining. It would have been much easier if the persocom could access the internet and found out for himself.

"Something that does not work correctly," Erwin repeated. It seemed he liked repeating things; maybe that's how he learned. "Do I work correctly?" Erwin added.

"I…guess. Truth is I don't fully know how persocoms work." Eren replied reluctantly, arms dangling over the side of the tub while he turned to face him.

"Do_ you_ work correctly?" Eren froze, not expecting that at all. He blinked, pondering on what to answer. "I guess I do. I'm not a persocom, though. Persocoms are much better, much more complex than humans."

Now it was Erwin's turn to stay silent. What a strange thing Eren had picked up. A few moments later, Eren asked for a towel to get out of the bath. If there was anything he was used to, it was silence. But he had been used to it because there had been no one to talk to, unlike right now. It was after he dried off his hair and got dressed that Erwin spoke up, "I do not need to be a persocom."

Eren wanted to point out that his whole existence was kind of to be one, but he refrained from commenting that; "What do you want to be then?"

"Like you and the other."

"Me and the other?"

"The one you called Horseface."

"Ah, Jean? We're humans. You're a persocom. It might not... work, you know?" How was he supposed to teach a persocom how to be human? They were way too different.

Erwin raised an eyebrow, frowning at Eren, "That 'Jean' person does not think I'm completely a persocom. He says I am defective, or not a good persocom at least. What is the point of trying to be something I cannot fully be?"

Huh. Not so damaged, after all. As expected, Erwin was sharper than he let on, even without accessing the internet or seemingly breaking persocoms he connected with . Eren's guess was that he was a homemade model, definitely. Probably the only one, so there was no reason to connect to other persocoms. The problem still remained that they couldn't find out what kind of Operating System he had.

"But you're not fully human either."

"Is it not much easier to attempt acting like a human than a persocom? According to you persocoms are more complex than humans." Erwin's voice was much firmer. Fuck, he used his own words against him.

Eren laid his towel on a chair, turning to the persocom. This was not a topic he wanted to discuss at the moment, not when so much had happened already. He still hadn't decided what he'd do, so he didn't want to promise anything. But of all things, really, a persocom that wanted to be a human? Life had a nice sense of humor, he guessed.

"You can try. You're a fast learner," He answered, really needing sleep. Eren turned off the lights, the only brightness in the room being the moonlight filtering through the window, and plopped down on his bed. He didn't know what persocoms did at night, so he remained silent.

"Eren," Erwin called out. Eren replied with a sleepy, "Yes?"

"What…are you doing?"

Eren blinked in the dark. Why was this persocom so confusing? He had thought he was really smart, but there seemed to be limits. "I'm going to sleep. Humans do it to recover energy. Persocoms gain their energy from the sun or the socket, so I don't think they need sleep. I know some do, but it's mostly to not waste energy rather than to recover it," He explained. He had expected some sort of verbal answer, but the only answer he actually got was the sinking of the bed as Erwin climbed on. He should have expected this, but he didn't. And because he didn't, his face burned and he scrambled to the far edge of the bed, his back pressed up against the wall and words unable to leave his mouth for a second.

"W-What are you doing?" Eren hissed as Erwin laid down facing him. Erwin made himself comfortable under the sheets before responding, "I'm going to sleep." The bed was small, and if it were just someone thin like Eren there'd be no problem. But Erwin was bigger, and if he didn't want to end up falling off, he'd have to get closer to Eren, who was practically flushed against the wall.

Eren groaned, having no choice but to share his bed. "But why here?" Erwin blinked at him, "It is where you are. You're a human." Of course. He was trying to be human. What had he gotten himself into? They stared at each other for a few minutes before Erwin spoke up again, "Do all humans have have different eye colors in each eye?" Of all the topics, why...

"Some do, some don't," He mumbled, the sleepiness getting to him. "It varies, and some persocoms are customized to have that kind of thing, too. People just like it I guess. Not all humans are the same. Like persocoms, their skin colors vary, as do their body shape, height, and everything really..."

"Not all humans are the same..." Erwin mumbled to himself, as if making a mental note to himself.

He stared at Erwin's face, trying to ignore the fact that the persocom had nothing but the underwear. "I really need to get you some clothes," Eren added as an afterthought, pulling his sheets over his head and ending the strange conversation.

* * *

When Eren opened his bicolored eyes and focused on Erwin's face, he was beyond confused. Who- Oh. Right. He had picked up a persocom last night. Eren tried stretching without disturbing said persocom, and found his muscles aching from the unusually cramped position he slept in. He quietly sneaked over Erwin, standing up. He checked the time. Nearly 8:30am; late for class. Panic settled over as he tripped over his own clothes in desperation to get ready.

On the bed, Erwin stirred 'awake'. He opened his eyes, immediately having focus. He sat up on the bed, watching Eren go around the room as if he were searching for something important.

"Eren?"

"Shit, shit, shit, I'm late for class!"

"Class?" Erwin asked, but Eren clearly did not hear. He went around the room, resuming his search for good clothes. He changed both his shirt and pants in the room before dashing to the bathroom. Erwin blinked, figuring this was also something that humans did, and started searching through Eren's clothes himself. He picked out the things that looked most like what Eren picked and put them on just like he had.

He had some difficulty getting the clothing on. It didn't look like it looked on Eren, but he didn't pay much attention to it. Eren came out of the bathroom, going over to the entrance and putting on his shoes. He hadn't turned to look at Erwin, too caught up in his rush. Without a glance back, he dashed out the door and slammed it behind him. Erwin stood there, speechless, before going over to the entrance. There things Eren put on his feet weren't there, so he decided it wasn't all that important and went out the door, planning on following Eren wherever he was going.

Meanwhile, Eren was practically skipping down the stairs, careful not to fall face-first down them. He was making his way down the hall when he bumped into someone, both of them hitting the floor harshly. Eren was about to apologize before he realized who it was.

"What the fuck is your problem so fucking early in the morning?!" Jean roared, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"We're late for class!" Eren stated, not understanding why Jean was so calm. would kill them for being late!

"We don't have class, you moron! Did you even pay attention yesterday?" Ah, he really hadn't. Woops. Eren put a hand on his chest, inhaling and exhaling. His adrenaline settled, and Jean stood up with a groan, rubbing the side he landed on. "Oi, where's your new pet?"

It took Eren a moment to realize he had left Erwin back in the apartment without an explanation. He let out an over-exaggerated groan. "Fuck. I left him at the apartment without noticing. I was too caught up in being late."

"Wow, the first day having a persocom and you already neglected it. Good fucking job, persocom owner of the year."

"Ah, shut up."

"My, my, you two seem to be in high spirits today!" A voice snickered. "Ah, ," Eren blinked. She snorted, extending a hand to him, "Just call me Hanji! Landlady sounds so stingy!"

He grabbed the hand, pulling himself up, "Thanks, er, Hanji."

Jean snorted at his awkwardness, "Relax, will you? I learned that you can't be too polite with her." Hanji nodded, a huge smile on her face, "Politeness is too boring! It's not good for someone as young as you, you know!" In a way, Hanji reminded him of Sasha. Speaking of which…

"Hey Jean, how's Sasha?" Eren asked, turning his attention to Jean, whose smile disappeared. "Well, she still works." Eren frowned. That didn't sound good at all.

"Only the schedule got messed up. She still has her data intact, only her clock is a bit wack. She woke me up at around 3AM so I'd do the morning workout routine," He elaborated, rubbing his face with a huff.

Hanji's face turned worried, and she grabbed Jean by the shoulders with a death grip, "Eeeeh? Sasha's not feeling well? What happened?!"

If Jean wasn't awake before, he was now. He blinked, startled, before replying, "Ah, I connected her to the persocom Eren found and she kind of spazzed out."

"Eren has a persoc-"

"Eren!" Speak of the devil. For a moment, the only thing that ran through Eren's mind was the fact that Erwin had only wearing his tight underwear. The hairs at the back of his neck stood. When he turned around, though, he found that Erwin was wearing his clothes. They were tight, but they didn't look ridiculous.

"Shit, Erwin. Sorry for leaving you behind?" Eren apologized, not sure what to say.

Erwin caught up, standing beside Eren, "Late for class." he repeated.

"Wh- Oh. Nah, turns out there's no class today."

"Oh, you were going to bring a persocom with you to classes today?" Hanji spoke up, this time a gentle smile on her face. Eren turned to her, "Nope. But I guess he was planning on following anyways," he chuckles, "Oh , right. This is Hanji, Erwin. Erwin, this is Hanji."

The landlady extended her hand, and Erwin did the same, figuring that was what he needed to do. After they shook hands, Hanji browsed over his clothes and laughed; "Aren't those a bit small?" she gave Eren a suggestive glance. Jean caught the look and chuckled along in the background.

Eren's cheek flushed, "It's not like that! He didn't have clothes when I found him-" That only made things worse as she burst out laughing, "-and I had to dress him somehow?"

Hanji took her time to catch her breath, turning to Jean, "Do you have clothes that could fit him or are they all tiny like Eren's?"

Jean shrugged, "They're all about the same size. I'm not a fan of loose clothing." Hanji nodded in understanding, clapping her hands together, "Alrighty then! I have some clothing that might fit him!"

Eren's eyes widened, and immediately shook his head, "No, no! You don't have to! I'm going out right now to get him some clothing!" he grabbed onto Erwin's arm to prove his point, but Hanji just waved a dismissive hand, "Don't worry about it! My husband's not here anymore, but I have some articles of his clothing with me."

"I couldn't possibly- I can't-" Eren frowned. Jean smacked the back of his head, rolling his head, "Stop being such a wuss! You'll go off to buy those clothes and then lament spending money." With a glare, Eren pushed Jean away.

"I was going to throw them out anyways, you know? You should take them." Hanji persuaded, going over to grab onto Erwin's other arm, "They'll look good on him, promise!"

"Clothing? Eren, you said I needed clothing." Erwin turned to the boy, furrowing his brows, "Hanji says she will give me the clothing?" Eren opened his mouth to protest, but found that he couldn't. What was he supposed to say? That he hated relying on people to the point where he would much rather give Erwin crappy clothing than rely on someone? Wow, that sounded bad even in his head. He rubbed at his temples, giving a defeated sigh, "I-If it's not too much trouble, Hanji…"

The woman beamed, giving a jump, "Yahoo! No problem at all! Follow me!" That's what she said, but she was already dragging Erwin along with her, babbling about something. Eren turned to Jean, who gave a shrug and a pat on his back before going on his way. In the end, he had no choice but to follow Hanji.

She had been babbling about persocoms and the new models, and Eren noted how Erwin, although perhaps not understanding, was listening intently, nodding along every once in a while. Eren himself stayed back, simply settling to watch the two interact. Well, at least now it was sort of official that he would stay with the persocom. Besides, they don't offer much for homemade persocoms; it wouldn't have been worth selling him. That's what he thought as he was invited into Hanji's own apartment. It was thrice as big as any of the others , which didn't surprise Eren, seeing as she owned the whole place. The walls were some pastel pink, the floors wooden. It had a strange…home-ly feeling to it. Like when you'd visit your parents after moving out for a few years. It felt nice, as long as he didn't remember why he couldn't visit his parents anymore.

Hanji had told him to stay in the living room while she dragged Erwin into another room, giggling. Erwin only shoot one confused glance at Eren before the door was closed. He stayed wandering around the room, admiring the decoration while he waited. For someone like Hanji, the decoration seemed…calm, maybe a little plain. His train of thought was interrupted when Hanji slammed the door open, smiling from ear to ear while pushing Erwin into the room. He was wearing a button-up shirt with rolled-up sleeves and some dark jeans; he even had shoes. Eren gave a hum, admiring how the clothes fit Erwin.

"Ahh, there's so many possible combinations to put on him!" Hanji squealed, going back into the room and gathering an armful of clothes, going over to dump them on Eren's lap. He gave a startled jump, holding on to the pile.

He looked upwards, about to tell Hanji that it was too much. The woman seemed to have seem through him, because she held her hand up, "If you don't accept them I'll higher the rent," she snickered, knowing she'd won when Eren's shoulders fell in defeat. She plopped down beside him, explaining which clothing combinations would look best on Erwin.

While Hanji was busy checking over Erwin's clothes again, Eren checked the time; he may not have class, but he still had work in a few hours.

"Hanji," Eren timidly called out. The woman dusted off Erwin's shoulder before turning back to Eren, "Yes~?"

"I have work in two hours, what do I do with Erwin? Do I just leave him at the apartment?" Wow, it really felt like he was talking about a pet.

She snorted, "Pfft, no, silly! You take him to work with you!" she brought Erwin closer to Eren, "He can even go in his current clothes 'cause they look business-y!"

Eren stared at Erwin, and Erwin stared back. Seeing as he had no other choice, Eren bit at his lip. He had no idea what he was getting into, and he had no idea if it would be worth it.

* * *

_**A/N; /Erwin's only this OOC in these chapters, like some confused bunny. He's sharper than he lets on./**_


	3. Artificial Touch

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Hanji?"

"Positive! Besides, rare persocom or not, he must still recharge with sunlight, right~? You can't just lock him up in dark places, you know."

Eren bit the inside of his cheek, realizing she was right. He had no idea how long a persocom's energy reserve even lasted. He could plug him into the socket, but he had nearly broken poor Sasha; he didn't want the apartments to catch fire or anything.

"What if it rains again? Can persocoms get wet?"

Hanji snickered, "You really know nothing about persocoms, do you?" Eren dropped his head, not willing to point out that he had chosen his classes to one day build persocoms himself yet was still failing.

She seemed to notice his change in mood because she added, "They can get wet as long as you make sure that their ears are closed. Some can't be in the water too long, but most just can't go too deep because of the pressure. Relax, Eren. You'll be fine!"

Sighing, Eren stood up. Hanji gave a pout, asking a, "Leaving so soon? Remember to take the shoes, too!" To which Eren's reply was just a small shrug, walking over to the door after picking the shoe boxes.

"If he can get wet I suppose I'll show him how to take a bath and then see if he could help out at the restaurant somehow. I don't want to burden the cook."

To his surprise she just burst out laughing again, and his ears turned red realizing it was because he implied showing Erwin how bathing worked. First Jean and now Hanji; someone give him a break already. But he had just picked up Erwin last night; this was just the beginning.

"Erwin, come on," He waved the persocom over, who just turned his head to Hanji before picking up the clothing pile and going over to Eren.

When Hanji finally caught her breath she managed a, "Good luck with work today, come back safely!"  
"We will. Thanks, Hanji!," Eren simply waved, holding the boxes with his other hand, and went out the door with Erwin, closing it behind him. A small smile crept to his lips. _'Come back safely'_, huh? He remembered how his mother used to say that a lot; he missed her. It wasn't sad this time, nor bitter. He didn't feel like crying out how unfair the world was or curl up in a dark corner. If anything, it was…warm. He hadn't realized he had just been standing there with Erwin until the persocom called out to him.

He snapped back to reality, blinking away the memories and speaking to Erwin. "Sorry about that, I spaced out." He didn't even wait for a reply, just kept on walking back to his apartment.

When they got there Eren helped Erwin with the pile of clothes, and _much_ to his surprise, Erwin had some idea of how to fold them. He had watched in awe as Erwin went from messily bundling them up to actually folding them nicely. This proved that he wasn't so defective. Maybe his Memory program was a bit messed up; that could explain why he seemed to go from confused to sharp. It could just be that he was trying to copy Eren.

A thought occurred to the boy, and he stood up; leaving Erwin with the clothes while he went to look for a pen and paper. In a few hours they were heading off to the restaurant, and he didn't want to inconvenience Erd in any way, especially after the man had been nothing but kind to him. After some digging around, he managed to find what he was looking for.

He could practically feel Erwin's stare on him as he sat down beside him cross-legged, offering the items. When the other reached out to grab him, Eren noticed how pathetically small his hands looked in comparison to the persocom's.

"Eren, what do you wish for me to do with…?" He held up the paper and pen, empathizing his question without finishing it. For a moment, Eren inwardly panicked. What if he didn't know how to write? What if he had to teach him everything from scratch? He couldn't even pass 's class! He'd make a horrible teacher.

"Er, write." He settled on saying. Erwin hesitated before placing the paper on the floor, pressing the tip of the pen to it. Eren grabbed his shoulder, catching his attention again. "I'm sure you have to remember how to write. I _need_ you to remember how to write. So, Erwin, write what I say." Something flashed by Erwin's eyes, as if he had processed some sort of data. He turned back to the paper, silent.

Taking a deep breath, he started dictating, "My name is Erwin Smith. I currently live in Stohess Apartments." Erwin's hand hadn't moved. They remained in silence for a few moments until Eren finally leaned in to Erwin's hunched form to search for his face. As he expected, there was something flashing by Erwin's eyes, and Eren was hopeful that he was remembering things. Slowly, Erwin's trembling hand steadied and started moving smoothly. Eren noted with a bit of envy how neat his handwriting seemed to be, all professional-looking. A big smile spread out on his face, he could write after all. He would be fine in the restaurant. After Erwin finished writing, he had turned to Eren. He stared at the boy's expression before he raised an eyebrow, a mix of what seemed confusion and awe.

"Eren?"

Ah, he must have looked like a doofus, smiling like that. He waved his hand dismissively, "It's nothing. I'm taking you to work with me today, so I need you to go around asking new people what they want to eat. Some foods have weird names, so I'll recite as many as I can and you'll write them down, alright?"

Erwin nodded obediently, turning back to the page with furrowed eyebrows. Eren grinned at his determination, starting with the hardest names first. Erwin could recognize the foreign words, and though he wrote them, only the grammar was wrong. Eren took another wild guess that his Language program was affected. After spending a whole hour writing and re-writing the menu, correcting his mistakes and explaining how each one was pronounced, Eren decided it was enough. They only had an hour and half more until his shift started.

Hanji had said that his current clothing was appropriate for working, but she clearly didn't know the dress code. He didn't have waiter clothes for Erwin, so he went looked at the pile, searching for something close enough to what he wore at the restaurant. Some black slacks, with a matching long-sleeved turtleneck. Eren didn't know who Hanji's husband was, but damn did he have nice clothing; nice quality, too. It's too bad that they were all too big for him. He also added some of the bigger boxers he had, which would certainly fit Erwin.

"You had no problem putting on my clothes, I'm sure it'll be the same with these," Eren said, handing over the clothes.

Erwin stood, looking down at Eren, "I am supposed to take a bath first, am I not? Like you did, yesterday."

Eren almost wished Erwin went back to being confused; it would have been much less awkward and much easier to think of him a computer. Regardless, he still seemed confused, it's just his way of speaking had changed a bit. It had gotten…firmer? Like he was sure about what he was saying. He supposed that was good.

"And you will. After I do," Shrugging, Eren made his way to the bathroom, this time closing the door behind him. Outside, Erwin waited patiently, holding his folded clothes before the window caught his attention. He looked around outside, everything bright and lively. He turned his gaze down, finding Hanji watering some plants. She had been looking at the sky when she caught a glimpse of him, waving his way. Erwin reacted, waving back. Waving was a human thing. Bathing was a human thing. He stayed in front of the window, looking at everything before Eren came out of the bathroom, towel on his head.

Erwin turned to him, eyes focusing on his clothes. He looked down at the ones he would wear, finding that they were different.

"Eren. My clothes are different," He spoke up, and Eren rubbed the towel on his head before answering him, "Yeah. My work clothes aren't here. You don't have any, so that's what you need to wear. We have to leave soon, so you should hurry and take a bath. Just take off all your clothes and turn the right handle."

Erwin nodded, walking past him to go into the bathroom, setting the folded clothes on a small cabinet inside the bathroom. He stripped and got in the tub, just as he was ordered. Turning the handle, he got sprayed with water. He didn't flinch, just merely blink. He stared at the bottom of the tub, but the water never pooled up or fill said tub like it had when Eren was in it. He sat at the bottom of the tub, like Eren had, unknowing of what to do. He simply let the water rain down on him. There was a knock on the door.

"Erwin, are you using my shampoo?"

Shampoo? Erwin turned, sure enough finding a bottle that said shampoo. It read that it was for the hair. The persocom turned to the door, opening his mouth to express his confusion, "This is for my hair."

"Yeah… Ah, fuck it. I'm coming in," Sure enough, the door opened, and Eren stood there, completely dry. He tilted his head at how he found Erwin. Of course, he hadn't explained much else besides stripping and turning on the shower. "We don't have much time, I'll help you."

He crouched in front of the tub, handing a bar of soap to Erwin, "Rub that on your body, it'll clean you. I'll wash your hair so it's quicker." He rolled up his own sleeves, getting his hands wet before pouring shampoo on them. Erwin started rubbing the soap on his arms, just as Eren dug his finger pads into Erwin's scalp and massaged, producing bubbles. His hair was still soft, like he had felt when he had dried it the first time. Erwin leaned in so it'd be easier for Eren as se rubbed the soap over the rest of his body. It smelled nice; it smelled human, it smelled like Eren. "Close your eyes, if shampoo gets into your eye it might sting. I think," Eren let the water wash away the shampoo after he was done, grabbing some other bottle.

"More shampoo?" Erwin had asked, figuring that, like the shampoo, he had to rinse away the soap on his body.

"No, this is conditioner. It comes after the shampoo, and it's so your hair stays soft," Eren explained, rubbing in the conditioner. He paid extra care to the undercut, finding that although it was shaved, the hairs weren't rough. Having already been done with the soap, Erwin waited patiently for Eren to finish with his hair. Figuring time was running, he got done with Erwin's hair, letting the conditioner rinse away. Eren turned just as Erwin stood, staying under the shower for a few more seconds before turning it off.

"Don't get out yet, you'll get the floor wet," Eren instructed, going to the drawer and getting the biggest towel he had, throwing it at Erwin, who caught it with ease. "Use that to dry yourself, and after you do, just get dressed. I'll wait outside, alright?"

Erwin made sure not a drop of water was left on him by the time he was done dying himself. He combed his fingers through his hair, styling it as it used to be. He had woken up with another hairstyle, most likely done by Eren.

His new clothes fit much better than Eren's. They didn't look weird on him, and now he had what Eren had put on earlier, that he didn't have. Shoes and…socks was the word?

He went out of the bathroom, adjusting the sleeves of his shirt. Eren was already there, a bag slung over his shoulder. Eren looked over to Erwin, seeing the new clothes fitting him nicely.

"Alright, I take it we're good to go?" He held on to the door's handle, waiting for Erwin, who nodded and went along quietly.

On the way down they passed Jean, who was holding Sasha. Eren approached him casually, greeting Sasha first.

"Good evening, Sasha. Feeling better today?" He asked, extending his palm. Without hesitation, Sasha leaped from Jean to Eren, saluting, "Aye! Sasha's all good, all good!"

"Hmph, that's because I fixed her," Jean added smugly. Eren raised an eyebrow, "I thought you said only her schedule was messed up. Even I could have fixed her. Jean's eyebrow twitched, and he snapped, "Well you didn't!"

Eren growled, his temper already getting the best of him, but before he could snap back at the stupid horseface, Sasha spoke up. "We're going to Connie's Bakery! Come along!"

Eren's anger dispersed as he stared at the tiny persocom, frowning lightly, "Sorry, Sasha. I got work today, maybe tomorrow."

Jean put a hand on his hip, motioning over to the silent Erwin, "You're taking your persocom with you? Isn't that a bit hazardous?" In return, Eren merely shrugged, "I'm afraid of plugging his cable on the socket since he nearly destroyed Sasha. I'd much rather let him recover solar energy."

"Eh, point taken."

"Speaking of work, we're running late. Later guys!" Eren gave a pouting Sasha back, waving over his shoulder while dragging Erwin along by the sleeve.

"Don't forget stopping by Connie's Bakery tomorrow!"

"Right!"

* * *

Eren was still dragging Erwin by the sleeve when he finally spoke.

"That Jean person does not seem too fond of my presence," Erwin commented on the way to the restaurant, staying close to Eren. Eren was expecting him to eventually say something about it, but not this early. "Well, you nearly destroyed his expensive little persocom, so yeah, I can see why he'd be defensive."

"Expensive? Although it was that tiny?" Erwin frowned, finally seeming to take in his surroundings. Other people, just like Eren, with other people, looking more like Erwin with their strange ears. If they were so expensive, why did many people have them?

There was a glint in Eren's eyes as a grin spread out, "That's because persocoms are mankind's greatest achievement! They look and act human although they're not, they know everything, and can pretty much do anything!" He didn't try to cover his obvious excitement, pulling more at Erwin's sleeve. Erwin remained silent, again something flashing across his blue eyes as Eren kept talking about all the things persocoms could do.

Before they knew it, they were at the restaurant. Eren took in a breath, looking up at the sign before pushing through the doors, not letting go of Erwin, who was studying the amount of people in the place. It wasn't very full for now, since it was everyone's favorite place to go after dark. Eren went straight past everyone, going directly into the kitchen. Erd was already there, with a strange pained expression on his face and with Gunther helping out with his apron. Eren didn't dare question why he had that expression. He turned when Eren came through the door, and smiled. "Someone's pretty early today," he chuckled. His chuckled turned to a whistle when he spotted Erwin, "Looks like you've got company. He yours? Thought you said you couldn't afford a persocom?"

Eren rubbed the back of his neck, giving a nervous laugh, "Funny story, actually. See, I found him last night after leaving work. Turns out he works kinda fine. I was told not to leave him in the apartment so I just kinda brought him along. I taught him how to write the menu's options before we came here, so he should be fine? I mean, I don't want to inconvenience you." He kept on nervously babbling, until Erd laughed and waved a hand at him.

"Eren, relax. He seems fine. I'll have Gunther help him out in a bit. But really, you hit the jackpot, finding a working persocom."

"I guess I did," Eren agreed, "I'm going to get dressed. I brought him in those clothes because he doesn't have a uniform. I hope that's okay."

Erd rolled his eyes playfully, "Of course it's okay. And oh, I have Gunther's spare uniform. Dress him in that and he'll be good to go."

Eren gave a small smile, a bit ashamed that he was receiving help, "Thanks, Erd."

The cook waved a hand at him, "Hey, don't mention it. Now go, I'm sure you want to see your new persocom dressed as a waiter," he added. Eren groaned, and Erd burst out laughing, figuring that he hadn't been the only one who had made a similar comment.

Sure enough, when Eren went into the changing rooms on the back, he easily spotted Gunther's spare uniform. He went on explaining Erwin how he should put it on, but still had to help him in the end. Erwin looked nice in his uniform. As expected, a casual get-up didn't fit him as much as fancy clothes did. Eren got a comb out from his bag, and combed his own hair in place, looking in the mirror to make sure he looked presentable, too.

He turned to Erwin again, eyeing his hairstyle. It was parted at the side, like he had styled it the night before, after he had dried it. He was surprised Erwin styled it like that again after he showered. _'Maybe he'll look better with his hair combed back'_, was what Eren thought, but when he brought the comb close to Erwin's hair, he grabbed his arm. Eren froze, not expecting the action. Erwin had a strong grip. He composed himself, "Erwin, I'm just going to comb your hair back."

Erwin frowned at him in the dim lighted room, "I would prefer keeping my hair like this."

Eren was about to protest, but chose to let it go, "Fine. Let me properly style it then." At that, Erwin's hand reluctantly let go, and he bowed his head as Eren combed through the silky blond hair. Once done, Erwin let himself be guided back. "Go to that table, ask if they're ready to order, write it down here," he handed him a notebook and pen, "and if not, just give a bow and move on to another table. If there's a word you don't know how to write down correctly just come over and I'll help out, alright? Remember to stay polite."

Erwin looked at the table, filled with teenagers, and a few persocom, and nodded. He went over as ordered and followed Eren's instructions. Eren stayed in his spot, watching over Erwin as he attended the table. He watched as the teens sputtered at the sight of Erwin, and some started giggling. Eren snorted, noticing how confused Erwin looked. The teens ended up not ordering, and Erwin gave the bow like he was supposed to, only to be called back by one of the stuttering females, who ordered and started asking around the table, clearly not wanting Erwin to leave. Well, at least Erd would get more customers, he guessed.

Erwin took their orders, giving the bow again and returning to Eren. Eren gave an approving nod before saying, "Give that note to Gunther, the one who was with the cook, and then go serve another table. Make sure you remember whose orders are whose." Erwin nodded, and Eren went to serve tables himself.

It had all been going well; as Eren said, Erwin was a fast learner. He still approached Eren with some orders he didn't know how to write down correctly, but other than that everything was fine. It wasn't until Eren decided to check up on Erwin again after he attended a table that his heart nearly stopped. He was back at the teen's table, which looked like they were finished, and one of the teens was attempting to connect one of the persocoms to Erwin, most likely intending to pay via online. Eren's blood ran cold, remembering how Sasha spazzed out. Erd could be in real trouble if that happened to a customer's persocon. He dashed his way over, nearly tripping on his way. The moment he grabbed the teen's arm, it was just in time. The teen's eyes widened, face paling at the sudden action. Erwin didn't blink, something flashing through his eyes over and over again, as if he were processing more data.

"U-Um, c-could you let go of my arm, please?" The teen squeaked, and Eren let go, immediately apologizing.

"I'm very sorry, it's just this persocom isn't connected to the system yet. It would have been in vain to connect," Eren lied swiftly through his teeth, and the teen held his persocom's cable awkwardly.

"I'll get you the proper persocom right away," He reassured, grabbing Erwin's arm and dragging him back to the changing rooms. On his way there, he explained to Gunther what had happened, and the persocom nodded before taking care of the rest.

Eren forced his persocom to sit down on a chair, "Erwin? Hey, Erwin! Snap out of it!" How the hell does one make a persocom stop their weird trance? Sasha only stopped after she completely lost it and nearly bit the dust. He kept shaking the persocom, calling his name until Erwin blinked and his eyes went to normal. He looked around, confused by the change of scenery. He turned back, acknowledging Eren.

"Eren? I did not do well?"

Eren rubbed his arm awkwardly, "It's just some teens that tried to connect their persocom to you. Gunther's taking care of it right now. You kinda went into some sort of trance. All in all, you did really well up until that point, so it's all good," he cleared his throat, "but you should stay here. Or hang around with Gunther until my shift ends. He was also kinda on break. Anyways, I'm going back to work."

Eren turned to leave, leaving Erwin on the chair, until he called over his shoulder, "Gunther's probably in the kitchen now."

And so, Eren went back in the restaurant. Erwin stared at the floor for a while before standing. He dragged his legs to the kitchen, slowly pushing the door open. He looked up, sure enough finding Gunther, and stayed completely still. Gunther had his arms wrapped around Erd, and he was rubbing his back while the cook's shoulders shook. Erwin tilted his head, remaining glued to his spot. Erd pulled away, murmuring something to Gunther while wiping his face on his sleeve. Gunther nodded, and Erd went back to cooking, not knowing Erwin was at the door.

Gunther turned, acknowledging the other persocom's presence but not speaking about it. He walked past Erwin, motioning him to follow. Erwin shot one last glance at Erd before going along. They ended up on the alley besides the restaurant, sitting on a bench. It was already dark outside, but the alley was illuminated by the lamppost on the street. Erwin was the first to break the silence,

"Why did you wrap your arms around your master?"

Gunther looked at him from the corner of his eye, as if that were something Erwin should know. "Because he was upset. His fiancée, his soon-to-have-been wife, called off the wedding, and left him. When humans feel upset, most like to have contact with others. They like to have another wrap their arms around them like that and have their back rubbed or patted."

"Upset?"

"Yes, it's a human emotion. Humans feel emotions constantly. Sometimes their feelings get the best of them. He was feeling the feeling of love until she left him."

"Feelings? Is that a…program?"

Gunther shook his head, "No. Only humans feel it, not us persocoms. They're born with them. If we were to feel them, we would not be persocoms anymore."

Erwin averted his gaze, another flash going through his eyes, "Feelings are a human thing. A persocom who has feelings…is not a persocom." He repeated, mostly to himself. Gunther nodded.

"What else do humans do?" Erwin questioned. The persocom beside him gave a shrug, "From the data I have, humans enjoy having their hand held, and they enjoy eating food. We cannot eat food; we don't gain energy from it. Other than feelings, food, and enjoying human contact, I myself do not know about humans. As long as I please my master I am fine."

Erwin was about to ask another question when the door which they came through opened, Eren standing there. "Ah, there you guys are. My shift ended, so we can go back, Erwin."

Gunther stood, and Erwin followed along. But the dark-haired persocom stayed in the kitchen, and the blond-haired followed Eren into the dressing rooms. Eren noted how spaced out Erwin looked, but this time not because he was in some data-processing trance. He helped Erwin take off the clothes carefully, and set them aside neatly before handing him his other clothes again. Making sure Erwin was ready first, Eren went to work on himself, taking off his own uniform.

Sure enough, Erwin seemed to have attracted more customers, since most of them had been teenage girls and boys, but since Erwin couldn't finish the job, Eren had to. He was beat. Just as he was done changing, Erd came in the room with the biggest grin.

"Guess what, Eren? Your persocom helped us break a record. More people visited today than any other day," He informed the boy, who had black bags under his eyes.

"Yeah, I seemed to have noticed. My hand's cramping from all the writing. Not even in 's class does it do that," Eren groaned in response. Erd laughed, pulling out a white envelope. Eren blinked at the envelope, confused. Erd seemed to have sensed his confusion, because he waved it in the air with a smile.

"Your pay, plus the all of the tips you earned. You were literally the only waiter today and you still kept up and kept all of the customers attended. Also," Erd's grin got wider, "Erwin's pay is also in here, since he attracted so much customers. I'd like to hire him."

Eren's jaw nearly hit the floor. He raised his hands, shaking his head, "I don't mind having Erwin work here, but you don't have to pay me today!"

Erd raised his own hand, silencing the boy, "It's fine, Eren. Just take it, you deserve it. I knew you'd let me hire Erwin, so I went ahead and ordered his uniform." Eren's cheeks burned red, and he looked away. "Uh- I- fuck-, just…thanks, Erd."

Erd walked over, patting his shoulder. From behind, Erwin blinked at the action, but remained silent. Eren turned to his persocom, a wide smile coming over his face. Erd took his leave, taking Gunther along. "Looks like you're gonna be working here, too." Eren told Erwin after they left and he picked up his bag.

Erwin stood up, following after Eren, "So it seems."

* * *

They had left the restaurant, making their way down the dark streets when Erwin remembered his conversation with Gunther. Humans liked food and holding hands. Sky blue eyes stared at the boy's empty hands for a few moments. Humans also felt feelings and emotions. They weren't a program, humans were born with it. But they didn't need to be a program, because Erwin had decided he wasn't a persocom.

So he caught up to Eren, taking his smaller hand in his large one, feeling Eren tense up. From the corner of his blue eye, he saw Eren's bicolored eyes staring at him curiously.

"What…are you doing, Erwin?" He wasn't mad, just confused as to why Erwin would randomly hold his hand. Was that something you did with your persocom? Fuck, why didn't Erwin have a manual with him when he found him.

"Humans like contact. They like holding hands." That was all the explanation Erwin gave before he lead the way, walking one step ahead of Eren, but never letting go. If anything, he tightened his grip on Eren's hand, making sure it didn't slip out of his grasp.

"I said it before, didn't I?" Eren sighed, "Not all humans are the same. What if I'm a human that doesn't like holding hands?"

At that, Erwin's confidence seem to falter. It was only for a moment, though, because the next thing he said was, "Then I'll be the human who _does _like holding hands."

_Sure. Except you aren't human. _That's what Eren wanted to say, but didn't. He knew what it was like to want to be or do something and have someone step and disrespect that. Well, a persocom wouldn't quite feel it, but Eren would feel bad anyways. By the time he even mustered up an answer, it was too late for a witty reply. He simply opened his apartment in silence, Erwin still holding his hand.

Eren dropped his bag, wiggling his hand out of Erwin's hand. Erwin frowned at him, broad shoulders dropping before Eren groaned, ears hot, "People don't hold hands when they sleep. And I'm going to sleep."

The moment he left Erwin standing there, he made a mental countdown on how long it would take the persocom to want to sleep like a human, too. Sure enough, by the time Eren got to three, the mattress had dipped, and it squeaked under the new weight applied to it. Eren sighed once again. Looks like another night of sleeping against the wall.


End file.
